The World Green Building Council reports that over 11% of global carbon emissions result from building construction, with an additional 28% originating from the ongoing use and management of structures.

This reality has prompted organizations worldwide to address and diminish their operational carbon footprint and the embodied carbon of their projects. In addition to societal expectations, clients often face governmental mandates mandating practices to reduce their projects' carbon impact, while larger entities are urged to measure and mitigate their emissions, aiming for initiatives like carbon neutrality.

In Europe, stringent regulations on building permits and assessments are being enforced, and a similar trend may emerge in the APAC region. Smaller contractors are compelled by commercial imperatives to prioritize sustainability, outlining methodologies to minimize waste and mitigate local impacts when bidding for projects.

Distinguishing themselves from competitors, contractors are exploring innovations in product and manufacturing processes that reduce materials like steel or concrete, thereby enhancing their appeal to principal contractors. Manufacturers are increasingly embracing sustainable practices, utilizing recycled materials to create products with reduced embodied carbon, recognizing this as both environmentally beneficial and a market advantage.

Achieving sustainability goals is complex, extending beyond material choices to encompass factors like travel patterns, energy consumption, and project timelines, all influencing carbon emissions. This complexity presents an opportunity in the form of process virtualization, enabling the creation of detailed digital environments spanning the design, construction, and management phases of projects. These virtual environments offer real-time, accurate representations, enhancing communication, clarity, and stakeholder engagement.

Effective utilization of technology for simulating and analyzing operations provides unprecedented measurability, empowering organizations to understand their environmental impact and pinpoint areas for enhancement. In a scenario where construction projects span years with no room for errors, digitization plays a critical role in measuring and optimizing carbon emissions effectively.

Addressing waste is a direct method to reduce carbon emissions, leading to cost savings and lower embodied carbon in buildings. However, a forward-looking approach is necessary. For example, at DBM Vircon, they advocate for the Serviced Asset Information Model (SAIM), a service that integrates project data into 3D models to offer an information-rich representation of assets. This comprehensive model allows clients to analyze, assess, and monitor their built environment meticulously, facilitating updates to facility operations and changes for improved data management.

Find out more: Autodesk